National / International News

A Chinese vessel locked its weapon-targeting radar on a Japanese ship near disputed islands, Tokyo says, amid mounting tensions over a territorial row.

'I feel I am tainted because I spoke up'

The Scottish government outlines a possible transition to independence, in the event of a "Yes" vote in the autumn 2014 referendum.

A school girl from Luton told 5 live about the app she created that has sparked the interest of Silicon Valley in the US.

What is Rebecca Adlington's legacy for British swimming?

French President Francois Hollande tells the European Parliament there can be no "a la carte" attitude to the EU in an apparent swipe at the UK.

A marble statue of Margaret Thatcher that was decapitated by an attacker in 2002 is offered to Grantham Museum.

A lorry fire on the A90 causes severe disruption to northbound traffic travelling from Perth near Kinfauns.

France to blame UK for EU budget fight, Gavin Hewitt says

A facial reconstruction of how Richard III may have looked is released, after archaeologists confirmed a skeleton found beneath a Leicester car park was that of the English king.

Also: Scandal-mongering author Kitty Kelley turns her gaze on women in Congress; Goodreads makes some unexpected new rules; and Mark Athitakis explains why Barnes & Noble brought literary culture to the suburbs.

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In a lawsuit filed late Monday, the U.S. Department of Justice claims the credit rating firm Standard & Poor’s knew some $4 billion worth of mortgage-backed securities were risky. But, the government claims, S&P still gave those securities top ratings anyway, helping to fuel the nation’s mortgage meltdown.

Economic consultant Gary Shilling says Wall Street banks needed S&P’s stamp of approval.

“The rating agencies were working with [banks] to put the maximum amount of what was really very low-quality merchandise in there, securitize it, and sell it off to people who thought a “AAA” rating meant something,” says Shilling.

McGraw Hill, S&P’s parent company, posted a lengthy rebuttal on its website.

“What the government is claiming is just not so,” says Floyd Abrams, the company’s attorney.

George Washington University law professor Jeffrey Manns says this is the first time the government has sued a credit rating agency over the housing crisis.

“It may underscore that the federal government will take a more aggressive posture in the future in trying [hold] rating agencies accountable,” says Manns.    

It’s expected Attorneys General from at least a dozen states will also file suit.  

According to news reports, rescuers were able to insert a camera into the underground bunker where gunman Jimmy Lee Dykes held a boy for nearly a week. When they feared he might hurt little Ethan, authorities distracted Dykes with an explosion. Then they shot and killed Dykes. Ethan is safe.

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Business leaders reveal their proposed route for a Crossrail 2 railway line crossing London from the south west to the north east.

Oil giant BP reports a fall in full-year profits as it continued to settle charges related to the Deepwater Horizon disaster.

24 hours of news photos: 5 February

Barclays has increased the amount of money it is setting aside to cover two-mis-selling scandals by another £1bn.

The father of a schoolgirl allegedly abused by a child sex ring in Oxford pleaded with police and social workers for help, a court hears.

A 28-year-old man who admitted raping a girl at her 14th birthday party is jailed for six years.

Six Spanish tourists have been raped by armed men at a beach resort near the Mexican city of Acapulco, local authorities say.